One of the greatest American Adventure and a
culmination of the Manifest Destiny Doctrine developed in the year 1889. At
noon, on April 22, over 50,000 people lined along the border of Oklahoma in
order to have a chance at two million acres. Those who undertook the homesteads
had to live on the land and make improvements for at least five years. The
question might be why was this land so prized?
Wikipedia Land Rush Photo of 1889
To understand, we must travel back in history to 1862,
then President Abraham Lincoln, presented the idea of the yeomen farmer which
had been the backbone of Jefferson’s Democracy. This idea would yield to the
small family farmer start up land to grow crops on good soil. So many small
farmers had seen their dreams crushed by larger wealthy plantations in the
south who could use slave labor to increase their wealth. Remember land
rich/money poor???
Those who were being forced out had a large voice in
Congress such as Andrew Johnson (17th President), Horace Greeley (go
west, young man) and George Henry Evans (radical reformer and union man), all
who wanted to liberalize or open public lands to those disenfranchised. Not
such a bad idea. All they had to do to get around 165 acres was to follow a
three-step procedure.
1. File
for an Application
2. Improve
the land aka housing, crops, cattle etc
3. File
for a patent
This was open to any citizen who had never
taken up arms against the U.S. government, freed slaves and women included, who
were at least 21 years of age or head of a household It doesn’t sound so bad.
However, the land being eyed for this venture didn’t quite belong to the
government.
Let’s go back again… this time to 1830 – The election
of ole Andy Jackson which began the removal of Native Americans from their land
and the forced march known as the Trail of Tears. These Native Americans were
all gathered on land deemed unwanted in the Oklahoma Territory. Tribes such as
the Choctaw, Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Seminole, Quapaw, Seneca, Shawnee,
Kickapoo, Delaware, Caddo, Kiowa, Comanche, Wyandot, Cheyenne, Arapaho,
Wichita, all were given land divided up, no thought given to long held
differences etc. and told to live happily as farmers instead of warriors.
All seemed to be going just peachy until over population
in the East and the end of the no so civil, Civil War. Now, people were on the
move. They needed some place to go - aka Oklahoma. By the year of 1879 over 30
bills were in Congress to open lands that had been bargained for, weaseled, and
in some cases, down-right stolen. Once the final date was set, people gathered
all hungry for that piece of American Pie.
So how do we know what’s a Sooner or a Boomer?
Sooners were those who went in, hid until the
appointed time then quickly filed a claim.
Boomers were those who took advantage of the movement
by settling, starting towns, selling plots to make money and moving on.
So, back to April 22, the land appropriation bill
declared noon to be the starting time the border would open. Military,
dignitaries, and troops gathered for a gun shot that signaled the opening.
People surged forth to claim their lands. By the evening of this day both
Oklahoma City and Guthrie would go from nothing to having ten thousand citizens
on record.
I’m thinking this would make a great backdrop for a
romance series.
Until Next time, happy trails,
Nan
1 comment:
Wow, this is so very interesting! Thank you for sharing this article and the pictures. Have a Great week. God Bless you.
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